


let’s go back to how things used to be

by Author_Incognito



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canonical Child Abuse, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-12 08:53:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9064885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Author_Incognito/pseuds/Author_Incognito
Summary: Queenie took Modesty’s face in her hands. “Sweetie, please listen to us. Credence is sick, he needs help and support.”       Modesty wrenched herself away from her. “No! I don’t want anything to do with him!” 
Or, how Modesty and Credence Barebone's relationship is broken and then repaired.





	1. Chapter 1

Modesty sat cowering in fear beneath her hiding place, hands clutched so tightly around her toy wand that her knuckles were a gleaming white amongst the darkness. Dust and grime covered almost her entire body, except for two tear tracks that went down her cheeks. She didn’t know how long had passed since Credence had turned into that – that _thing._

    Why would he do that? Modesty thought, a small sob escaping her. One minute he had been the Credence that she knew and loved and the next he had turned into a monster. The first time that she had seen him do it she had run away in fear but he had found her and he had turned into that thing again. Modesty whimpered. What if he came back for her? What if he killed her the same way that he had killed their mother?

    A noise from somewhere downstairs startled her and she froze in terror. Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no. He had come back for her. He was going to kill her. He was going to kill her. _He was going to kill her._

   “Hello.” A male voice called out. “Is there anybody there?”

     Modesty almost sobbed in relief. It wasn’t Credence. “I’m in here!” She called out, her voice shaking.

   A man carrying an old, battered suitcase entered the room. “Oh, dear. Are you all right?” The man   asked as he approached her cautiously.

   Modesty shook her head, tears spilling out from her eyes once more.

  “oh, yes of course you’re not all right. I’m sorry I’m not used to dealing with people. Creatures are so much easier to handle.”

    “Who- Who are you?” Modesty asked the strange man.

   “My name is Newt Scamander, and I’m here to help you.”

* * *

 

It had taken quite some time, but eventually Mr. Scamander had coaxed Modesty out from beneath the desk and they were now walking hand in hand along the now quiet city streets. Modesty looked around, expecting at any moment for that monster to come back for her.

   Mr. Scamander saw her unease and gripped her hand tighter. “Don’t worry, Modesty. You’re safe.”

   “Where are we going?” Modesty questioned.

   “To see a few of my friends.”

    “Oh.” Modesty whispered, slightly surprised. She didn’t know why, but for some reason she had expected that the man was taking her back to the church. But then again, there wasn’t much of a church to be taken back to.

    Then she realized something else that Mr. Scamander had said. “How do you know my name?” Modesty asked suspiciously. 

      Mr.  Scamander swallowed heavily. “Don’t worry Modesty, I’ll explain later.”

     Modesty nodded begrudgingly. Any other time she would have expected the man of being a witch and would have run back in fear to her mother. Now however her mother was dead and she didn’t want to be alone lest that monster come back for her.

   “Newt!” A voice called out from across the street. A woman with chin-length brown hair was running towards them. “You found her!”

   “Yes, it took a short while, but I did.”

  “Oh, sweetie you are absolutely filthy. Let’s go and get you cleaned up shall we?” The woman tenderly wrapped her arm around Modesty’s shoulder, an act that was very unfamiliar to her. But it felt nice anyway so she allowed the woman to keep her arm there as she pulled Modesty towards the building that the woman had been in front of.

   Before she knew it Modesty was being led into a small, but homely apartment. A woman with curly blonde hair was standing before them, smiling happily. “Oh, we were all so worried about you.”

    Modesty stared at the woman, unsure of what to make of this.

  “Oh, of course you don’t know what’s going on. My name is Queenie and this is my sister, Tina,” Queenie pointed to the woman beside of Modesty.

   “How- how do you know me?”

   “Well, your brother was really worried about you so –“

   Modesty screamed, interrupting Queenie in the middle of her sentence. She wrenched Tina’s arm off her shoulder and ran towards the door, where she bumped straight into Mr. Scamander, who dropped his suitcase in surprise.

   “What’s going on? What happened?” Mr. Scamander asked as he held tightly onto Modesty, who was trying her hardest to get away from this place.

   “I – I don’t know.” Tina sounded confused. “She was fine one minute and then Queenie mentioned Credence and . . .”

  Mr. Scamander nodded and pulled Modesty back into the room, shutting the door behind him. _No_ Modesty thought _, please don’t take me anywhere near that monster!_ Through her terror Modesty heard Queenie let out a small gasp.

     “Oh, sweetie.” Queenie said, kneeling down before her and taking her hands. “Your brother isn’t a monster.”

   “Yes, he is!” Modesty wailed. Why couldn’t they understand that?

Tina looked even more startled then she had before. “She- she thinks that Credence is –“ Tina trailed off.

    Mr. Scamander knelt down beside of Queenie. “Modesty, Queenie is right. Credence isn’t a monster, he’s just very sick.

   Modesty sniffed. “But he- he”

    “I know that what happened to your brother is scary for you, but it’s scary for him as well.” Mr. Scamander said softly.

   “What . . . what happened to him?” Modesty asked as Queenie reached her a tissue to wipe her nose on.

    “Modesty, what do you know about witches and wizards.” Mr. Scamander asked her.

     “They are people who want to bring misery upon everyone in the world.” Modesty told them, and all three adults before her winced.

    “Modesty, witches aren’t like that at all.” Tina said.

     “Well, there are bad witches and wizards, just like there are bad muggles.” Mr. Scamander amended her statement.

   “Muggle?”

  “A person with no magical ability or parentage.” Mr. Scamander explained.

     Modesty was confused. “But Mother always said . . “

   “Your mother was wrong.” Tina said, a harsh tone in her voice.

      “Oh.” Modesty whispered. Knowing that she was in the presence of witches and wizards did make her very nervous, but if they were as evil as her mother had always said they were, wouldn’t they have tried to kill her a long time ago?

     “Oh, sweetie, we’re not going to kill you.” Queenie said.

    “How did you . . . ?”  

   “I’m a legilimens.” Queenie explained. “It means that I can read minds.”

     “Oh.” Modesty said again, startled by this new information. Shaking her head, she pushed it to the back of her mind. She needed to know what this had to do with that monster. “But . . . what does this have to do with . . .”

   “Credence?” Mr. Scamander finished for her.

    Modesty nodded silently.

    “Well, Modesty, your brother is a wizard. But because of the abuse that he suffered at the hands of your adoptive mother, he has repressed his magic, causing him to form what is known as an obscurus. Which is a deadly parasitical magical force that has a tendency to explode out of an individual in times of great distress.”

  Modesty shuddered, her mind becoming violated by images of her dear brother turning into that monster.

  Queenie took Modesty’s face in her hands. “Sweetie, please listen to us. Credence is sick, he needs help and support.”

   Modesty wrenched herself away from her. “No! I don’t want anything to do with him!” She shouted as she ran into the next room to get away from them. She slammed the door behind her just as she began to feel her throat close up again. With a sob she lay down across the floor, feeling tears falling once more down her face.

  


	2. Chapter 2

Credence is curled up in the corner of the shack whenever Newt comes down. He’s hugging he’s knees, trying to make himself as small as possible.

   “I found your sister.” Newt tells him, keeping a safe distance away from him. Credence doesn’t know if it’s to make him feel safer or if it’s because Newt is too afraid to get closer to him. He figures that it’s probably the latter.

   “Is. . . is she all right?” Credence stutters.

    It takes Newt almost a full minute to answer him, and Credence feels himself starting to shake. He clenches his teeth, trying to control that thing –obscurus, that’s what Newt called it before- inside of him. “She’s . . . well she’s scared.”

    Credence looks down at his feet. Newt didn’t say exactly what Modesty was frightened of, but he could very well guess. “Of me.” He whispers.

    The lingering pause after he says those words pretty much confirms what he just said. Credence sobs and wraps his arms even tighter around his legs.

   “Well . . . yes.” Newt winces as he finally admits it. “But she doesn’t precisely know what’s going on at the moment. Once she becomes more knowledgeable of what’s going on and sees you then -.”

  “No.” Credence says, then flinches. Newt was speaking. He shouldn’t have interrupted. Credence takes slow deep breaths, preparing himself for Newt inevitably asking for his belt and the beating that would come from it.

    But it doesn’t come. Instead Newt simply asks, “What?”

    Credence breathes a sigh of relief. Newt hadn’t asked for the belt after all. At least, not this time. Credence knew that one day sooner or later that Newt would ask for it, and he just had to be prepared for when that day came. But for now, at least, he appeared to be safe.

   “I don’t want her to see me.” Credence whispers, trying to keep his eyes off of Newt.

   “What? Why? I thought you missed her.” Newt says, sounding confused.

   “I do.” Credence says, fiddling with his pant leg.

    “I . . . I don’t understand. Why don’t you want to go and see her then?”

   Credence swallows. Thinks about the things he did to that politician, to Ma, to Chastity, to the _entire city_ whenever he lost control. “I don’t want to hurt her.”

   “Oh, Credence.” Newt says softly, and Credence can’t help himself. He looks up, and sees that Newt is looking at him worriedly. He looks down again, feeling ashamed. Newt shouldn’t pity him. Credence doesn’t deserve his pity or anyone elses.

    “Credence, you’re not going to hurt her. Tina, Queenie, and I are here with you. We will make sure that nothing happens while you’re with her.”

    Credence shakes his head vigorously. He can’t trust himself around her now that he knows how easily he can lost control of the thing inside of him.

    Newt gives a sigh of resignation. “All right, that’s fine you don’t have to see her just yet. But, Credence, you can’t just avoid her. You’ll have to see her sometime.”

   “N-n-no.” Credence mumbles. He can’t risk it.

   “Okay, I’m not going to force you to see her if you don’t want to. But  . . . Credence, please think about it at least.” Newt says. Credence doesn’t answer him.

    “Credence, before I leave . . . Can I give you a hug?” Newt says.

     Credence pauses. He does want a hug but that is _selfish_ and Ma always said that that was a _sin._ And besides, Credence didn’t deserve a hug after what he had done.

     “No.” Credence says, looking up again.

   For a moment it looks as though Newt is going to ignore what he just said and hug him anyway, but in the end he seems to think better of it.

    “Okay. I’ll bring down some food for you in a couple of hours, all right?” Newt tells him, and with that being said he leaves. And once again Credence is all alone in the shack.  



End file.
